From raw data to smart decisions

Turning numbers into action

As a Digital Strategy Analyst at Damen, Seljan Abbas is helping shape a new role and a new way of working. Her mission? To turn raw data into strategic insights that drive smarter decisions across marketing, sales, and product development.

Seljan joined Damen nearly two years ago, first as a Marketing Intelligence Trainee. “There was already a lot of data available,” she explains, “but we weren’t using it strategically yet.” That observation sparked a journey to build a role that bridges departments and transforms information into impact.

Connecting the dots across teams

Seljan’s work sits at the intersection of data, business, and technology. She collaborates with marketing, sales, IT, and product teams to translate complex data into practical insights. “Everyone brings their own perspective,” she says. “My job is to piece it all together.”

That means building dashboards, setting up infrastructure, and, crucially, understanding what the business actually needs. “Data is not yet intelligence. You need to understand the context, otherwise it’s just numbers.”

A dashboard that drives action

One of Seljan’s key achievements is the Marketing Intelligence Dashboard. It goes beyond website traffic to show which companies are engaging with Damen’s content, what they’re downloading, and how that connects to industry trends. “We can see which companies return to specific pages and what topics interest them. That helps marketing and sales follow up in a timely and targeted way.”

Commercial detective work

Sometimes, her work feels like detective work. “A sales manager once brought me a web form that didn’t lead to a clear prospect. Within half an hour, I had profiled the visitor and discovered they were interested in a completely different project. That’s when data becomes truly useful.”

Building a data-driven future

Damen is evolving rapidly into a more data-driven organisation, and Seljan’s role is growing with it. From answering ad hoc questions to improving long-term data quality and infrastructure, she’s helping ensure digital strategy aligns with Damen’s broader goals.

“We’ve already uncovered a lot of valuable insights,” she says. “And it’s often the unexpected findings that create the most impact.”

Her guiding principle? “I believe data only becomes valuable when it helps people understand better, make better decisions, and improve. That’s what drives me: making data human.”